blues

I'm up early today, I can't sleep.

OI Girl went to Cayman Brac for the weekend. This was the weekend we both asked for time off for a Costa Rica charter, but it got canceled. She didn't want to stay here, after she had her heart set on going somewhere, also she thought it would be a good idea to to take a break from me.
. . .
Yesterday my filling broke again, remember, the big one that I barely dodged the root canal with? I tell you, lately it's just one thing after another. I've always considered myself to be healthy and strong, I am not ready to make a transition to sickness and weakness. Now I have to get my tooth fixed. That's two days. I have a lot of appointments already to get ready for the surgery. I don't have time for a toothache. What's the message I'm supposed to be getting?

Today is a sea swim. A week from now, I'll be bedridden in the hospital. . .

the cure is worse than the ailment

A week from today I go to the hospital for my operation. Its getting set up to be the worst weekend of my life, two days minimum in the hospital. No diving, swimming, DRIVING or lifting anything heavy for FOUR weeks!
I can swim now, before the operation, but after. . . nope.

They're gonna cut me open like a fish and sew me up and put a screen in me.

boring is good!

Another day in my boring life. Like I always say, boring is good!
Yesterday at the doctors I saw my guts, and I saw my prostate, and I saw the blood flowing in my veins. It was gross.
Today I go to see the surgeon, I want to get it done as soon as possible.

this weekend, the OI Girl is going to the Brac. We were goin to Costa Rica, but the charter got canceled. I'm keeping my weekend off that I asked for months ago.

This weekend is a half mile sea swim. The doctor said I could swim and it doesn't bother me when I do. So I plan on swimming. There is still a two mile and the Pirates week 3 mile. I think that's it for this year.

Let the doctoring begin!

This afternoon is my appointment for an ultrasound to look at my hernia. Tomorrow is the consultation with the surgeon. I want to get this done with as soon as possible.

payday

Today is payday, thank gawd! Last night, because I'm so broke, the OI Girl took me out on a hot date, dinner and a movie. We saw Oceans 13. It was good. Worth it.
today is payday, I have to pay some bills.

What I did this weekend

Nothing much. I slept a lot, so much I felt like I was wasting my life. It was mostly cloudy anyway, and it was a good weekend for sleeping.

Yesterday The OI Girl and I went to her friends house, they might be taking care of our dawg when we go to the US, but we're not sure . . . They have a fenced yard with a big hole in it, and there are too many people there. Something could happen and no-one would be responsible. We have another friend who would be much better. OI Girl's gonna ask him today.

It's weighing heavily on my mind whether I should tell you this or not. OI Girl gave me a mud mask this weekend. It was a first time experience. Not my idea, I was bed-ridden, helpless and weak. She forced me, as you can tell from this photo.Quite frankly, I don't think it did any good. But it was a weird feeling washing it off. I normally use engine degreaser on my large forehead. I think the OI Girl enjoyed it more than me. Maybe not. The stuff I have to put up with! I tell ya!

Ho Hum

I'm here on a cloudy Saturday morning. The doctor said I shouldn't dive for a couple of weeks. I guess I should send my rebreather in for annual service. (not the whole thing, just the electronics part)

I'm pissed that I'm injured. Here's how I think it happened, not that it matters at this stage. I went diving on the OI Girls bosses boat, with my rebreather and sidemounts. (the only reason I carry sidemounts, on a no-deco dive, is in case I had to share air with another diver) On the boat, is a very small, two rung ladder. So, after the dive, I swim up to the ladder, and it's so close to the surface, I could get only one knee on it. So I'm holding the ladder with both hands, and I put a knee up. Then I stand up on the knee, and get my other foot in the rung, next to my knee. Then I have to stand up, using one leg, to get the first foot on the ladder. Now, keep in mind, that the ladder is so short, that when I have both feet and my hands on the ladder, my hands are actually below my knees, so I'm way stooped over. Then I have to stand up, balance, and make a grab for the gunwale of the boat. Not to mention that the boat is heaving around in the waves, and the ladder has pinch hazards where the hinges are, so you have to hold it in the middle, effectively making it even shorter. It's a real pain in the balls, (literally)

Here's a pic of a ladder just like it that I found on the internet.

frikkin piece of junk toy ladder

I fell back in twice, trying to switch a hand from the ladder to the boat, but I didn't ever think I did anything to hurt myself. But that's all I can think of that happened. My instinct tells me that it will be a lot longer than two weeks before I'm diving again. I hope I'm wrong.

The OI Girl is still sleeping, I think I'll make her breakfast in bed.

Kicked in the nuts

Today I'm going to the doctor. It feels like somebody kicked me in the nuts, and it hurts when I cough or sneeze.

I forgot to post!

it's almost lunchtime and I haven't posted yet! I thought I already did!
too bad I have nothing to say. I'm looking forward to the weekend already.
payday is next week! I'm broke!

Hump day

Today is hump day. In more ways than one. Not only o is it Wednesday, humpday of the week, it is also the longest day of the year. Starting tomorrow, the days start getting shorter again and we swing towards winter. I like the longer days better.
Day before yesterday, I went swimming. I practiced some drills in a book, Total Immersion. Yesterday when I swam, it was like I had forgotten how to swim, I couldn't figure out how my stroke should be to be at it's best. And it felt like I got very tired very easily. My time at the end was OK though.
I think I need some swimming lessons.

the book

Has this ever happened to you?

I came to work this morning, and I forgot my shoes. I got half way and realized I was wearing my flip-flops. I could probably get away with it, but I called the OI Girl and she's bring me my shoes. Not that I really need them.

Here's a not-too pretty pic someone just emailed me of me after the mile swim. I look exhaustificated! (because I was)!

Happy Birthday to The Queen!!

Today is a holiday for the Queen of England's Birthday.
Happy Birthday!

I'm goin' to the Beach!

The 30 minute mile

The swim went well today. I did it the other day in 36 minutes, Then this morning I did the half mile, just to get loosened up, and it took 16 minutes. I figured that if I can do the half in 16 minutes I can do the mile in 32, and if I can do the mile in 32 minutes, I can do it in 30.
My time was 29 mins and 17 seconds, and I came in 110th out of 546 swimmers.
It was pretty rough, wave-wise, but the current helped us all. I had some foot cramps about half way and a couple of bad calf cramps about 3 quarters of the way through, but I just kept swimming.
It was good.
I didn't win any random prizes though

Oh yeah, PS, it was nice and sunny too!

Tomorow's the day!

(Pic stolen from the Flowers Sea Swim website)

Today is Friday, tomorrow is the Mile Swim. The weather is still nasty. It will take a lot to make them cancel it, but I like swimming in the sun. I haven't swam since day before day before yesterday.
OH well.

Again

Again, my transmission started slipping, again I took it to the shop, again they told me I needed a new transmission. Again, I didn't believe them. I took it to another shop for a second opinion and they found the filter practically clogged and fixed it for less than a 10th of what the first shop told me it would cost.

I now have a new auto repair place.

good idea

All I remember is that this morning I had a great idea! then the alarm went off and made me forget it.

Hmmmm

Yesterday, because my car is still in the shop, I rode my bike to work.
After work, I rode home, and then walked across the street to the beach for my swim. I swam 1.2 miles. the water was roughish, with big rolling waves, not breaking. I swam from Cemetery Beach to the West Bay dock and back. It was cloudy and nasty, until I turned around and started heading back, by the time I got back to Cemetery Beach, it as sunny and nice and everyone had gone home. I had the whole place to myself! It was nice!
Then it rained super duper hard last night and it's all cloudy again today. I rode my bike again today because they still don't know what's wrong with my car. The transmission is slipping, but they haven't yet found out why.
Hmmmm

Back at the grind

It's Monday, I'm at work, I had forgotten my keys (I didn't need them to ride my bike) and when I got here I was locked out. So I called the OI Girl and she brought them. But I had already picked the lock on my door.

Today it is cloudy, with high clouds like it won't rain. Remember in school, when it was all cloudy and it seemed weird because when you got to school because the classroom lights were on and it seemed dark outside? That's the kind of day it is today.
I had a great weekend, I went to the beach both days and got some serious rays, I went diving yesterday and didn't want to come up. I could have stayed down there all day.

Here's some pics from yesterday:

The OI Girl and Tarpon, the tarpon are about 3 or 4 feet long

Red Rope Sponge

Cayman Catboat

Got it back,

Whew, I was pissed

Dammit

All I did was pick a new template and now I've lost all my sidebar buttons and all my stuff. I can't get them back
dammit blogger
I lost my frikkin counter too!

Finally a Friday

I'm glad it's Friday, I'm looking forward to a couple days off.
My car's in the shop, the transmission is slipping. It is nice to ride my bike to work, I've been meaning to ride it more but I always have an excuse not to. 'Gotta carry my computer, gotta do something at lunch'. . . etcetera.
Usually when I'm driving I see the same bikers riding in every day. Some I see going both to and from work. They probably wish they had a car, I sometimes wish I didn't. I think it would be great to have a simpler life, no car, smaller bills.
But I love my car, and I can't carry a rebreather on a bicycle.

One week from tomorrow is the mile sea swim! I had a great swim yesterday, I think I had a good sprint at the end.

Sleep

Since I quit getting up at 3:30 AM to study, I am not sleeping well. I guess I'm still used to waking up and I wake up by myself. I want some good sleep. I have been tossing and turning all night (it seems) since I finished my course. Also my neck's been stiff, like maybe I need a new pillow.
that's my whine for today.

Mangos

Every morning, on my way to work, I stop by the grocery store and get breakfast. In the mornings, they have fruit at the salad bar. I'm not a big fan of public salad bars, with everyone digging around in them, but in the mornings, I'm usually the first one there. In fact, the girl is usually still there, putting the stuff out when I get there, so it's pretty good.
This morning there were mangos, Ripe mangos. Here, the people tend to like the mangos green, sometimes with salt and or hot sauce. Not me, I like them ripe soft, and sweet. Not the little stringy ones either, I'm talking about the great big ones. Although the little stringy ones are good too, they're designed to be eaten by the bag at the beach, standing chest deep in the sea. But the ripe Julie-type mangos are the most perfect food in the world. No bout adoubt it!
In fact, I will go so far as to say that I bet there is no human alive who likes ripe mangos better than me.

The Swim

It's almost time again for the big swim. The Flowers Mile Sea Swim. At the end of this month! One year I won airline tickets!

The Crop

This is a pic the OI Girl took of our crop of peppers. There's still a lot more on the vine, and we've eaten a lot and given a lot away. They are pretty hot if you get some seeds, just right if you don't.


Here's another pic of me and my pooch watching Lady and the Tramp. The OI Girl took this one too. UN-authorizidedly. If anyone tries to use it to bribe me or otherwise damage my tough-guy reputation, I'll tell them I already posted it on the internet.

By request

Pictures of my Dawg

Happy June First!

Happy June First! I've always said, as long as I can remember, that the first half of the year always seems shorter than the second half. And, it seems like '07 is flying by. Of course, the year is really half over at the end of June, not the beginning, but this is the sixth month out of twelve, so it kind of seems like half way.
Also, today is the first day of Hurricane Season, it seems like it started two weeks ago, with all this rain. I thought the rain was over because the sun was out this morning and you could see the moon last night, but now it's cloudy again and lookin' kinda dismal. Like I said before, the sun will come when I return to work. I'm saying it over and over, so when it happens, I can say I told you so!
The OI Girl is at work, today is technically my last day off, Saturday and Sunday don't count as vacation days. Monday, I'll be back at work. Sufferin'
But lets not think about that now.
Yesterday I did some house cleaning, and today I may do more of the same. Or not. Hard to tell...
Hasta Manana.